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Elections 2010Posted by administrator Wed, September 22, 2010 10:15:37Fewer than 300 votes separate the centre-right Alliance from an outright majority in the Riksdag as electoral officials feverishly tally advance and overseas ballots.Sweden’s precarious parliamentary predicament could swing to certainly on a mere 42 votes in Dalarna, 92 in Värmland, and 164 in Gothenburg, according to several media reports.

In each of those three districts, Social Democrats were awarded the final permanent Riksdag seat with the smallest of margins.

But as advance ballots, including postal votes sent in from overseas, are counted, it’s possible that the distribution could shift in favour of the Alliance.

In Dalarna, 42 votes could mean that the Left Party would take the final permanent seat away from the Social Democrats, and the adjustment seat currently held by the Left Party’s Lena Olsson would end up going to either the Centre Party, the Liberal Party (Folkpartiet), or the Christian Democrats.

The net results would be a gain of one seat for the Alliance.

“It feels damn depressing that my result can be to the advantage of the Alliance. Their policies go against everything I stand for,” Olsson told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

In Värmland, the Social Democrats managed to snag the final permanent seat from the Liberals by a mere 92 votes. Should the final count result in the Liberals’ Nina Larsson overtaking Gunnilla Svantorp of the Social Democrats, Larsson would be awarded the permanent seat, and the adjustment seat she currently holds would likely end up going to a candidate from one of the three smaller Alliance parties.

The Social Democrats also hold a permanent seat in Gothenburg by a 164 vote-advantage over the Liberal Party. If the final tally of advance ballots falls in favour of the Liberals, the party could end up taking one more permanent seat from the Social Democrats, and ultimately give the Alliance the 175 seats it needs to secure a majority in the Riksdag.

According to the Swedish Election Authority (Valmyndigheten), the counting of the estimated 110,000 foreign and delayed advance ballots won’t be completed before Wednesday night and at the latest on Thursday morning.

“Those who are interested in following developments can check out our homepage,” spokesperson Vivan Nilsson told the TT news agency. (The Local )